Curfew continues in Haryana town for third day

Gurgaon, April 14: Curfew clamped in Haryana’s Punhana town to curb any flare-up between two communities following the killing of a youth continued for the third day Monday, police said.

Mewat district authorities had Saturday imposed curfew as a precautionary measure in Punhana, some 95 km from Gurgaon.

Tension escalated in the Meo-dominated region after a 22-year-old youth, Wajid, was found dead Friday night with bullet injuries.

Wajid, a resident of Nakanpur area of Punhana, was shot in the head, police said. His body was buried Saturday after post-mortem examination.

Authorities Monday did not relax the curfew as several meetings were held between the two communities. On Sunday, it was relaxed from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Six police complaints – three each from the Meo (Muslim) and the Hindu communities – related to conflicts and clashes have been lodged at the Punhana police station.

Police said the death of Wajid was due to personal rivalry, since it was reported a day after clashes between two communities supporting the Indian National Lok Dal and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on voting day April 10.